The painful lessons of life make the deepest impact on our delicate, and yet ever so dull, minds when we are children. Indeed, I’ve come to refer to pain as “The Great Teacher,” which, given the growing trend of parenting techniques as I reached marriageable age caused me...
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June 24, 2016 Andrew Sargent
New Testament Studies, Society
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In Fatal Addiction, James Dobson interviews serial killer Ted Bundy only a few hours before his execution. Oddly enough, the main topic of conversation is not his pending death. Rather, in his last hour, a seemingly sorrowful Bundy warns against the destructive influences of pornography. In light of...
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June 22, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Ethics
Let’s consider three different translations for 1 Thessalonians 4:4 in context. Paul uses a figure of speech that has many people scratching their heads. The King James takes a rather literal approach. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6 reads: For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye...
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June 20, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, New Testament Studies
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I just saw one of those Facebook posters that read, “Repost this if you know someone who is still alive because you can’t afford a hitman.” It reminded me of one of the most annoying people I’ve ever met. He attended Bible college with me back in 1987....
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June 17, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
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The number of ethical issues raised by a reading of The Hiding Place highlights the struggle encountered by those, who, taking sin seriously, seek to please the Lord in this world. Corrie Ten Boom’s tale of delivering the innocent from Nazi villainy poses an ethical challenge to me,...
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June 15, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Ethics
Covenant is a Genre based on the concept that the Holy is actively involved in the affairs of Man, Holding Men to their oaths. Men call upon the gods to bless or curse them in keeping with promises made concerning general or specific expressions of loyalty to another....
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June 13, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
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A recent article being passed around Facebook, headlines, “1500 Year Old Bible Claims Jesus Christ Was Not Crucified – Vatican In Awe,” The subtext reads, “Much to the dismay of the Vatican, an approx. 1500-2000 year old Bible was found in Turkey, in the Ethnography Museum of Ankara.”[1]...
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June 10, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
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Here I go again, sticking my big nose into someone else’s blog post. I feel a little like a techno-savvy Gladys Kravitz. (For any Millennials who might be reading this, she was the nosy neighbor from Bewitched… the TV show from the 60s… not the recent movie. Explaining...
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June 8, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
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I had a discussion with a 19 year old the other day about the LGBT agenda, which, while not shared by all LGBT people, is being championed by progressive politicians. Nothing enables a power grab more than the American public’s conviction that someone is being treated unfairly in...
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June 6, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Society
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In our last few posts on 1 Samuel 15:27-31, we attempted to unpack the text in context in order to draw out of it, the narrator’s intended theological message… i.e. the reason he included the story in the larger Samuel narrative. Individual stories function in larger biblical narrations...
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June 3, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
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